Concerning Violence

A new feature documentary by Göran Hugo Olsson

Concerning Violence is a bold and fresh visual narrative from Africa based on archive material from Swedish documentaries 1966-1987 covering the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation from colonial rule. This powerful footage is combined with text from Frantz Fanon’s landmark book The Wretched of the Earth - written in 1960 and still a major tool for understanding and illuminating the neocolonialism happening today, as well as the unrest and the reactions against it.

"Colonialism is not a thinking machine, nor a body endowed with reasoning faculties. It is violence in its natural state, and it will only yield when confronted with greater violence."

"Come comrades, the European game is finally over; we must look for something else. We can do anything today provided we do not ape Europe, provided we are not obsessed with catching up with Europe. Europe has gained such a mad and reckless momentum that it has lost control and reason and is heading at dizzying speed towards the brink from which we would be advised to remove ourselves as quickly as possible."

Hip hop artist Ms. Lauryn Hill will narrate the upcoming documentary "Concerning Violence", a new film by Göran Hugo Olsson.

Ms. Hill began working on the voice recording in October, shortly after her release from the US prison where she had serving a three-month sentence.

"Concerning Violence" is based on recently discovered archive material from the Swedish Television archives which depicts the boldest moments in the struggle for liberation from colonial rule in Africa. This powerful footage is combined with text from Frantz Fanon’s landmark book The Wretched of the Earth.

People

Concerning Violence by Göran Hugo Olsson was awarded with the Cinema Fairbindet prize at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival awards ceremony on Saturday.

The Cinema Fairbindet award recognizes an outstanding feature or documentary film, which inspires by the cinematic creativity. The award-winning film focuses on global development and human rights issues contributing to intercultural dialogue and encouraging audiences to discover new perspectives. The winning film goes on to be screened throughout Germany and will be shown to a wide audience.

Concerning Violence screened in the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlinale.